In February of my freshman year at New York University, my friend Elena and I took a Greyhound overnight to Montreal for a long weekend. It was a memorable trip for a great many reasons, but one of my favorite memories was of a sweet little pâtisserie called Juliette et Chocolat.
We visited the pâtisserie on our last night in town, teetering across the thick ice that covered every surface of the city. When we finally arrived, chilled to the bone, nothing could have been more welcoming than the warm glow of that little bistro punctuated with the alluring aroma of chocolate wafting through the air. The servers wore delightful white smocks and big, droopy red chapeaux that made us feel as though we were at a 19th century French tableau.
Their specialties were drinking chocolate and crêpes, and they truly were spectacular. As I’ve mentioned before in this column, hot chocolate in its various consumable forms is a specialty, if not all-out obsession, of mine, and the drinking chocolate at Juliette et Chocolat did not disappoint. It was the crêpes, however, that I found particularly memorable. The size of the crêpes alone was impressive — I own a skillet hardly large enough to achieve such a creation. Filled with fruit and chocolate, each bite was meant to be savored as it warmed every inch of our bodies. Should you ever find yourself in Montreal, I highly recommend venturing down the Rue St. Denis and checking it out for yourself.
Fortunately for me, making crêpes is not terribly difficult, and when I got back to New York they became a common Sunday morning treat. To be honest, I never consulted an authentic recipe and rather simply arrived at one that satisfied my every crêpe craving. The following is about a serving for two:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Less than 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg (or to taste, depending on how you feel about nutmeg)
one egg
Enough milk so that the batter is fairly runny, but still has a battery — as opposed to watery — consistency.
Because the crêpes are best hot, prep your fresh fruit or filling before you begin the batter. When you’re ready to make the batter, first mix all the dry ingredients together and set them aside. Then whisk the egg with about 2 tablespoons of milk until the egg is lightly beaten. To the egg and milk mixture, slowly sift in the dry mixture, whisking all the while so as to avoid lumps. As you add the dry ingredients, the batter will need to be thicker. So when you add the dry ingredients, add a little milk, too, alternating dry and then wet ingredients to avoid a lumpy batter. Because the batter is so thin, even small lumps will be very obvious blemishes on the crêpe. Once your batter is at the proper consistency, set it aside.
As for the pan or skillet, a nonstick surface is preferable, but even then cooking spray is necessary to prevent your crêpes from sticking and tearing. Further, unlike with their thicker cousins, pancakes, a griddle is not ideal because the batter will simply run everywhere and make a big mess. Place the greased skillet on medium heat until a droplet of water skitters on the surface.
When you add the batter to the pan, pour in a circular motion in the center, then lift the skillet to further spread the batter into a thin circle by swirling it around in the pan. Once the base of the pan is coated in batter, cook until the top of the crêpe loses enough of its moisture so it can be flipped with a spatula. Then flip the crêpe, and cook it until the hissing of the wet batter on the hot surface has died down. At this point, your crêpe is cooked and ready to be filled. For multiple crêpes, you will probably need to respray the pan after every two or three to make sure that they’re still coming off nicely.
If you’re making several crêpes — for a friendly brunch, perhaps — tenting them in some aluminum foil once they come off the stove will keep them warm while the others cook. Once you’re ready to serve them, they go beautifully with fresh berries, grapes, apples or whatever you like, so be creative and discover your favorite! Bon appétit!
Sarah’s column runs biweekly Wednesdays. She can be reached at s.brummett@cavalierdaily.com.
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